Calendar Highlights

The entire SMU community is invited home to the Hilltop for a “Homecoming of Heroes.” Homecoming 2017 takes place Nov. 2-5, and this year it includes a special centennial celebration for the Mustang Band, founded in 1917.

The SMU Staff Association invites all staff members to march with them in the Homecoming Parade at noon Saturday, Nov. 4. To participate, register with SMUSA and arrive by 2:45 p.m. at Mustang Plaza and Mall near Moody Coliseum. Family members are welcome, and the first 50 staff members to sign up will receive free T-shirts.

SMU will celebrate its veterans from across the generations at a luncheon in their honor on Friday, Nov. 10, 2017. The SMU Veterans Day Celebration, “Arc of Service,” will take place noon-1:30 p.m. in the Martha Proctor Mack Ballroom, Umphrey Lee Center.

President R. Gerald Turner and U.S. Military Veterans of SMU will provide remarks recognizing the contributions and achievements of University service members. SMU Trustee EmeritusMilledge A. (Mitch) Hart III will deliver the keynote.

The luncheon will also feature live entertainment from the Meadows School of the Arts Brass Quintet, as well as the annual presentation of SMU Veterans lapel pins (pictured right).

In addition, the event will serve as a collection point for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s annual Toys for Tots drive. All members of the SMU community can drop off new, unwrapped toys and other holiday gifts for underprivileged children and teens. (Toys for Tots prefers not to accept realistic-looking toy weapons or gifts that include food items, according to the organization’s FAQ.)

Organizers are compiling a service slideshow featuring photos of SMU veterans. If you have photographs taken during your service period and would like for them to be included in the presentation, please send the photos and your service dates to the Maguire Center.

TEDxSMUWomen returns to the Hilltop Thursday, Nov. 2, with a full schedule that includes a simulcast of TEDWomen 2017 live from New Orleans and on-campus speakers.

The independently organized TED event takes on this year’s TEDWomen theme, “Bridges,” from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Hughes-Trigg Student Center. The day includes two sessions with Dallas speakers, plus workshops and networking opportunities for all attendees.

The Dallas Independent School District Board voted in September to focus on renaming four Dallas ISD elementary schools named for Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Albert Sidney Johnston and William Cabell. The SMU panelists will provide perspective and historical context surrounding the naming of Dallas ISD schools.

Each Oct. 31, science enthusiasts the world over celebrate “the hunt for the unseen” – the elusive matter that makes up much of the total mass and energy of the universe. Scientists don’t know if dark matter consists of undiscovered particles, or if it can be explained with known physics – but understanding it is key to unlocking the structure of the cosmos.

On Sunday, Oct. 29, the department hosts a free public lecture for lay audiences by Maruša Bradač, associate professor, University of California-Davis. The talk begins at 4 p.m. in McCord Auditorium, 306 Dallas Hall, followed by a reception with beverages and light snacks at 5-6 p.m. in the Dallas Hall Rotunda.

On Halloween, Tuesday, Oct. 31, the Dark Matter Rock Hunt begins. The Department of Physics has hidden 26 “dark matter rocks” around the SMU main campus; finders can collect special prizes from the Physics Department office in 102 Fondren Science. The hunt is free and open to the public and will take place 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Anyone who discovers a rock painted with a dark matter message on the SMU campus is encouraged to tweet a selfie with their rock and tag it #SMUDarkMatter.

“In the spirit of science being a pursuit open to all, we are excited to invite the public to become dark matter hunters for a day,” Cooley says. “Explore the campus in the search for dark matter rocks, just as physicists are exploring the cosmos in the hunt for the nature of dark matter itself.”

Cooley is part of a 100-person international experiment team that uses ultra-pure materials and highly sensitive custom-built detectors to listen for the passage of dark matter at SNOLAB, an underground science laboratory in Ontario, Canada.

SMU’s 2017 Rosine Smith Sammons Lecture in Media Ethics features one of the nation’s most influential media lawyers in a discussion of the state of the First Amendment, news, and fairness in today’s politically charged news environment.

Bruce Sanford, a partner in BakerHostetler in Washington, D.C., will speak on “Trusting the Media in the Age of Trump” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 in Caruth Auditorium, Owen Arts Center. The event is free, and tickets are not required.

Mentioned in The National Law Journal’s list of the 100 most influential lawyers in America (1991), and described by American Journalism Review as one of the most accomplished press lawyers in the nation, Sanford maintains a national practice as a partner in the law firm BakerHostetler, Washington, D.C. His work focuses on representing high-profile clients in cutting-edge and complex matters, frequently with high-stakes public affairs considerations.

Sanford represented President Clinton in the negotiation of a book contract, and first lady Barbara Bush and author John Grisham in libel and copyright cases, respectively. He also serves as general counsel to the Society of Professional Journalists, the largest and oldest organization of journalists in the United States, on Capitol Hill and in Washington.

President R. Gerald Turner has invited the entire SMU community to the University’s relaunched staff recognition day on Thursday, Oct. 5. 2017.

The new Staff Celebration and Convocation, created by the SMU Staff Association (SMUSA) in collaboration with the Office of Operational Excellence, will take place at 10:30 a.m. in McFarlin Auditorium. A reception with light refreshments will precede the ceremony at 10 a.m.

The event is for all staff members, and President Turner will give his traditional State of SMU address as the keynote. University Registrar John Hall, SMU’s longest-serving staff member, is the featured speaker.

Staff members who have achieved 25 years of service to SMU will be honored, as well as the 2017 President’s Award and Loretta O’Reilly Hawkins Award recipients. The ceremony with also recognize staff members who have continued their SMU service beyond 25 years, and previous President’s and Loretta Hawkins Award recipients.

The SMU Meadows Theatre season begins with a new production of a Pulitzer Prize finalist that reimagines an American literary classic in a modern setting. Professor of Theatre Rhonda Blair directs Suzan-Lori Parks’ In the Blood , running through Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017 in the Margo Jones Theatre, Owen Arts Center.

Parks conceived In the Blood as a retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, with Hester as a single mother living in poverty with her five children. As she struggles to support them, she decides to seek help from their various fathers, with tragic consequences.

The playwright has won awards and honors including a MacArthur “Genius” Grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Tony Award; in 2002, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama. In the Blood, which premiered in 1999, was a Pulitzer finalist.

Showtimes are 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, with 2 p.m. matinees Saturday-Sunday. Tickets are $8 for SMU faculty, staff and students. Arrive early – there will be no late seating.

SMU family members from across the country will get “Wild About SMU” during 2017 Family Weekend, coordinated by the Student Foundation’s Family Weekend Committee. The festivities take place Sept. 22-24.

Student research, creativity and innovation take the spotlight during the Fall 2017 Engaged Learning Symposium and Big iDeas Pitch Contest, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 22 in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Forum. Engaged Learning Fellows show their work 9 a.m.-1 p.m., and Pitch Contest teams will hold forth from 2-5 p.m. for the opportunity to win $1,000 in seed money for their projects.

Events include the traditional Game Day Barbecue, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 on the Clements Hall South Lawn. Faculty and staff members can claim four free football tickets for the 6 p.m. SMU-Arkansas State at the Ford Stadium ticket window with SMU ID. Tickets may also be purchased by calling 214-768-GAME or by visiting the Athletic Department website.

SMU Gives Back: This year, the Student Foundation is partnering with Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, which supports the health and well-being of seriously ill or injured children receiving treatment in the Dallas area, as well as their families. Throughout SMU Family Weekend, University community members can eat and shop at a variety of local partner businesses – just mention that you are with SMU, and part of your purchase will directly benefit Ronald McDonald House of Dallas.

During the Symposium, which runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., students in research, service, creative and internship programs from across campus will present their work and take questions from the audience. They will include SMU’s Maguire and Irby Family Foundation Public Service Fellows, Summer Research Fellows, University Honors Richter Research Fellows and McNair Scholars, as well as Engaged Learning Fellows.

From 2-5 p.m., find out what some of SMU’s most innovative students are up to during the Big iDeas Pitch Contest. After developing their ideas, undergraduate teams pitch their ideas to a panel of judges with backgrounds in innovation and entrepreneurship. Next, judges determine which ideas are most realistic and can be developed in the following three months. The winning teams are eligible to win up to $1,000 in seed money to prepare prototypes and pilot programs for the Demo Day Fair in early 2018.